Read the full judgment text of HCCT 18/2007 on BabelCite. This 高等法院原訟法庭 judgment was delivered on 20 December 2010 before Hon Saunders J.
Contract Law — Limitation — Professional fees — Construction and arbitration proceedings concerning architect and structural engineer’s fees — Agreement dated 5 March 1991 for consultancy services on a property development project at 39 Conduit Road — Partial performance and plan approvals obtained but project never completed — Carry Express refused payment of invoiced fees — Dispute over when cause of action accrued for limitation purposes — Limitation Ordinance Cap 347 s 4(1)(a) applied — Court held cause of action accrued latest February 1998 upon payment refusals — Plaintiff’s writ issued in 2007 statute barred — Issue of plaintiff’s knowledge of alleged deceptive intention by defendant to never complete project — Court found no knowledge on balance of probabilities — No collateral contract proven — Claim dismissed; costs awarded to defendant.
Legal issues: Limitation of action · Knowledge of deception as to project completion · Existence of collateral contract
Outcome: The plaintiff’s claim is dismissed as statute barred under the Limitation Ordinance.
Cited by 3 cases